Overrotation leads to prop strike

The pilot said that, when the Cessna 195’s tailwheel lifted off the runway at the airport in Llano, Texas, the engine lost power, and he thought it had quit.

The airplane then pitched forward, and the propeller struck the asphalt runway.

The airplane turned slightly right, went off the side of the runway, and nosed over.

An examination of the runway found at least 15 propeller strikes in the pavement, which is indicative of the engine producing power and driving the propeller.

Tire tracks and propeller strikes were observed going off the right side of the runway into the dirt and ending where the airplane nosed over.

No anomalies were found with the airplane’s controls, engine, or other systems.

The pilot likely overrotated the airplane when he lifted the tail for takeoff, and the propeller then struck the runway, which resulted in a reduction of engine power and the pilot’s subsequent loss of directional control.

The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s overrotation of the airplane when lifting the tail during the takeoff roll, which allowed the propeller to come in contact with the runway and resulted in a reduction in engine power and the pilot’s subsequent loss of directional control.

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Comments

“The airplane then pitched forward, and the propeller struck the asphalt runway.”

Makes it sound like the airplane did this all by its lonesome as if unmanned. The airplane was pitched nose down by the pilot at its controls who misjudged how far to rotate nose down while bringing the tail up. Same thing can happen when checking forward too much on wheelie landings to prevent a bounce. Ah, the challenges of tail wheeled airplanes while on the ground.